The Select and Start News Report: 10.06.08
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 10.06.2008
Nintendo announces new model of the DS, new Wii and DS games, and their solution to the Wii storage problem! Elsewhere, Sony announces what we'll see at the Tokyo Game Show, Zack Snyder joins EA, and more.
Welcome to the news report that'll last longer then the Kimbo Slice-Seth Petruzelli fight.
With the original DS being released about 4 years ago, I always wondered if Nintendo was going to release a new handheld. It would usually be the time they do so, but considering the DS has sold over 80 million units worldwide, I figured they would either hold off or just stick to the DS. Rumors about a new DS was going last week and was growing with reports from Japanese newspapers Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun. Last Thursday, it was official: Nintendo is releasing the DSi.
So what exactly is new with the DSi? Here's a basic rundown.
Miscellaneous Specs - Size of the unit has been reduced by 12%; Both screens will be increased to 3.25 inches; A web browser is built-in; Better speakers; Both screens on the DSi will now be a touch screen.
Built-in Camera - The DSi will have an interior and exterior 640x480 camera. The interior one is located where the mic is, and the exterior one is on the upper corner of the top side. The DSi will have built-in camera software will enable users to play around with pictures to distort, decorate them with graffiti, and send them to other DSi owners.
Internal Memory and Digital Distribution - The system will have internal memory to store DS apps and downloading games via the DS Shop using Nintendo Points (note: Wii Points will be renamed to Nintendo Points). The DS Shop will have games (called "DS Ware") with prices ranging of Free, 200, 500, and Premium/800 points. Those who buy their DSi by March 2010 gets 1000 free points.
SD Memory Slot - Using an SD card, you can store the picture from the DSi camera and view them on the Wii Photo Channel, store your music in AAC format, and other sorts of data.
No GBA Slot - What is sure to peeve off some gamers, the DSi will NOT have a slot for you to play GBA games on. This causes problems for both those who don't want to part with their GBA games and those who use the slot for games like Guitar Hero: On Tour. So unless you don't care about either, you won't be parting with your current DS anytime soon.
Release Date - Japan will be getting the DSi on November 1st, 2009 for the price of 18,900 yen (about $180). North America however is going to have to wait "well into 2009" according to Reggie Fils-Aime, mostly because demand for the DS Lite is still high. So wait...if the DS Lite is already in high demand, why are they making a new model? According to Iwata, he believes that despite strong sales, thee regular Nintendo DS is about to lose momentum because it's been out for 4 years, and they want to make a DS that's more then just a gaming device. Basically, I think they're trying to copy the PSP's aspects. Weren't they already doing something like that with the regular DS back in that E3 speech, or was all that hints about the new thing?
Overall, even though I like how this new DS is shaping up, I'm not going to buy it. I usually get the handhelds the moment it comes out and pass on all the upgraded versions, though I did get the DS Lite when my regular one broke. Should my DS Lite somehow suffer the same fate, I might buy the DSi.
WII AND DS GAMES WE ACTUALLY GIVE A DAMN ABOUT [credit: Gamasutra, Destructoid, Joystiq, 1UP]
Along with the new DS, Nintendo announced several new games coming to their systems. Here are a few gamers are most likely excited about:
Mario & Luigi RPG 3
Just like the last Mario RPG, only Bowser is playable at one point in the game. I wonder if Peach will as well? Then it'd really be like Super Mario RPG.
Phantasy Star 0
I hope this game is exactly like Phantasy Star Online, minus the credit card payments.
Sin & Punishment 2
With the virtual console release of the game being so successful, Nintendo decided to follow up with a sequel. I've never played the original, but looking at this title it reminds me a lot of Star Fox, and I LOVED Star Fox 64, so odds are, this game will be awesome.
Punch-Out!!
It's been nearly 15 years since the last Punch-Out game (Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES), and this one looks to be a remake of the NES game. The Little Mac in this game has a different face then the Little Mac from Smash Bros Brawl for some reason.
Maybe Nintendo actually does care about it's hardcore fanbase after all. If only they had shown a couple of these games at E3, then they wouldn't have been the biggest disappointment of the show.
NINTENDO'S SOLUTION: DOWNLOADING TO SD CARDS [credit: CVG, GameDaily, Gamasutra]
The biggest problem gamers have with Nintendo right now is wanting more storage for all those Virtual Console and WiiWare games they've downloaded. Many are asking for a hard drive just like the Xbox 360 and PS3 has. At the Nintendo press conference, they did announce a solution to the storage problem, but it isn't what gamers have hoped. Instead, Nintendo will release an update in Spring that will allow gamers to download games right to the SD card and the Wii to read data right off it, basically treating it like a memory card.
I knew Nintendo wasn't going to have the solution that gamers were really hoping for (ie, a portable hard drive), but at least it's something. Now if they can only fix their Smash Bros lag problems.
SONY'S GAMES FOR THE TOKYO GAME SHOW [credit: CVG, GAmeDaily]
Siliconera released a list of games Sony plans to be showing off at the Tokyo Game Show this week. Along with a lot of titles already announced or expected, they'll be 12 unannounced titles coming from Sony, 9 for PS3 and 3 for PSP. Irem and Konami will also have a new game each for the PS3. Here's the list of games:
PlayStation 3:
-Guitar Hero Legend of Rock
-FIFA 09 World Class Soccer
-Street Fighter IV
-Resident Evil 5
-Lumines Supernova
-Metal Gear Online
-Way of the Samurai 3
-Sonic World Adventure
-PlayStation Home
-Mainichi Issho
-Motorstorm 2: Pacific Rift
-LittleBigPlanet
-Resistance 2
-WWE 2009 Smackdown vs. Raw
-Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
-Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
Unannounced PS3 Games:
-1 from Irem
-1 from Konami
-9 from Sony Computer Entertainment
PSP:
-Sengoku Basara Battle Heroes
-Dynasty Warriors Multi Raid
-Orochi Warriors Second Coming of the Devil King
-Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
-Dissidia Final Fantasy
-Secret Agent Clank
-Ape Quest
-Patapon 2
-Bleach: Soul Carnival
-Mainichi Issho Portable
-Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida or 2
-LocoRoco 2
-Idolmaster SP
-Mobile Suit Gundam vs Gundam
-Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Unannounced PSP Games:
-3 from Sony Computer Entertainment
Most of the games already listed were already expected, so it'll just be a look of how their turning out and if they're coming to the US anytime soon. What's more intriguign are the 12 new titles from Sony. Classic revivals? New original IPs? Long awaited sequels? Can't wait to see what they reveal.
300 DIRECTOR JOINS EA; PEOPLE DECLARE THIS MADNESS [credit: The Escapist, 1UP, Joystiq, GameDaily, Gamasutra]
Zack Snyder, director of 300 and the upcoming movie Watchmen, has made a deal with EA to make three original games, similar to the deal Steven Spielberg made. The games will be developed by EA Los Angeles, with EA owning the intellectual properties while Snyder retains the rights to convert them into movies in the future. "I think video games are cool because they offer an opportunity to tell a story in an entirely unique way," said Zack Snyder. "Being a long time fan of the games EA creates, I look forward to collaborating with them."
Considering the success of his last two films (300 and Dawn of the Dead 2K4) plus the positive hype people have for Watchmen, this guy just might know how to make a good video game. So first Spielberg and now Snyder. Could this be a new trend of who creates video games?
Tidbit News
-A couple weeks ago Tecmo turned down an offer from Square Enix to merge with them, and instead announced that it was planning to merge with Koei. This week, we got more details about this merger. Tecmo and Koei will be forming a new holding company in 2009, and both companies will swap their shares for stock in the holding company. Once merged, their next step is to acquire others. [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily, GameSpot]
-$1.1 million worth of PS3 games were stolen in the UK last week. A truck driver carrying a shipment of 16,000 units of Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway stopped by the roadside in the East Midlands borough of Northampton to rest, and along came some thieves who emptied the entire truck. Police found the thieves' truck containing the games and had it impounded, only for that truck to be stolen again. This time when the police found the truck, the stolen games were already gone. My hunch: GameStop stole them so they can sell it back as used games and keep all the profits. [credit: GameSpot, Gamasutra, Joystiq]
-Been looking forward to Tiberium? I hate to have to break it to you, but the game has been cancelled. EA claims that the game was just not up to their quality standards and would likely not reach it with the development time given. Several people involved in the project will be let go, but EA will try to find them other projects to work on within the company. [credit: Gamasutra, CVG, GameDaily]
-Speaking of game getting cancelled, that's apparently what happened to Cal Ripken's Real Baseball. The MMO Baseball game's official website as vanished, leaving only a message that says the game's service is halted until further notice. No comment from anybody working on the game has been reached. [credit: The Escapist]
-Jeff Freeman, former Lead Gameplay Designer on Star Wars Galaxies, has committed suicide. Freeman was best known as the person blamed for SWG's "New Game Enhancements" that players hated back in 2005, even though it wasn't really his fault. Despite that, Freeman's brother clarified that his suicide had nothing to do with the game. "I want everyone to know that it was not SWG that led him to take his life," he said. "He has been troubled for some time. There were a lot of personal issues that tore at him." A memorial service for Freeman was held last Thursday. He is survived by his wife, Brenda Freeman; sons, Jeffery Freeman and Jesse Freeman; stepdaughter, Destiny Coffman; parents, Roy and Samantha Clark; sister, SaDonna Moser; and brothers, R.G. Carr and Dwayne Archer. He was 39. [credit: The Escapist, GamePolitics, Gamasutra]
-Speaking to UGO, Brett Ratner confirmed that he is collaborating on a God of War movie. In response, God of War creator David Jaffe thinks it's cool as he's a fan of his movies. [credit: GameDaily]
-The biggest change about Resident Evil 5? The typewriter save system is GONE. Instead, the save system will be a combination of checkpoints and chapters according to RE5 producer Jun Takeuchi. [credit: 1UP]
-Nintendo announced that Club Nintendo will be launching in North America. The announcement came at an official Nintendo press conference. Club Nintendo, a service by which gamers earn points by purchasing Nintendo products and taking part in surveys which can be used towards unique merchandise. [credit: GameDaily]
-Server populations on Age of Conan are apparently not at the levels Funcom anticipated. Aiming to ensure "more healthy" populations, the company will be merging servers in both Europe and North America. [credit: Gamasutra, GameSpot]
-PopCap Games announced the next installment in its hugely popular Bejeweled franchise, Bejeweled Twist, coming this October. [credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra]
-Activision has stated that any song uploaded on Guitar Hero: World Tour that's a cover of another song will be taken down, whether or not someone complains. What's the big deal man? [credit: GameDaily]
-Motley Crue confirmed via their blog that the entire "Dr. Feelgood" album will be available as DLC for Rock Band and Rock Band 2. The album will be available during the week of October 14th. [credit: GameDaily]
-Publisher MTV Games and developer Harmonix has announced AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, a multiplatform Rock Band standalone retail game due November 2nd, featuring live songs from the band, and being published only by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart in North America. The AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack will contain the following songs:
"Thunderstruck"
"Shoot to Thrill"
"Back in Black"
"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
"Heatseeker"
"Fire Your Guns"
"Jailbreak"
"The Jack"
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
"Moneytalks"
"Hells Bells"
"High Voltage"
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Let There Be Rock"
"Highway To Hell"
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"
[credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra]
Gaming Calendar
October 7th - Sam and Max Season 1 (Wii)
October 9-13 - The Tokyo Game Show 2008 to be held
October 14th:
-Dead Space (X360, PS3)
-SOCOM: Confrontation (PS3)
October 20th - Wii Music
October 21st:
-Fable II (X360)
-LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
October 26th - Guitar Hero: World Tour (Multi)
October 28th - Fallout 3 (X360, PS3)
October 2008:
-Bioshock ported to the PS3
-Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (X360, PC)
November 4th:
-Left 4 Dead (PC, X360)
-Resistance: Fall of Man 2 (PS3)
-Quantam of Solace (Multi)
November 7th - Gears of War 2 (X360)
November 11th:
-Eternal Poison (PS2)
-Call of Duty: World at War (X360, PC)
-Mirror's Edge (X360, PS3)
November 13th - WoW: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
November 14th - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (X360)
December 2nd:
Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (PS3, PC, X360)
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (PS2)
Fall 2008:
-MySims Kingdom (DS, Wii)
March 13th 2009 - Resident Evil 5 (X360)
Survivor: Gabon Watch
Despite the many years Survivor was on the air the only time I've ever actually watched that show was the first season finale. This year however is different as I'm now watching the show purely for the fact that one of the contestants is pro gamer Ken "SephirothKen" Hoang. I'm not keeping my hopes up that he'll win the competition, but I at least hope he doesn't get voted out in the early weeks.
Episode 1 and 2 thoughts:
With that said I have a feeling that's unfortunately going to happen because based on the first two challenges his team just absolutely sucks, and this was very apparent in the second episode. They finally decide to get a leader with GC and the moment he gives out orders everyone else decides to act like they're retarded. Randy even outright admits that he's just going to stand back and watch the team implode, thus I wish for nothing more then Randy getting his ass kicked off the show immediately. Not only that but they immediately started turning on Dan over whether or not he had the idol, which he didn't, and it looked as if he would get voted out. Fang is not functioning as a team at all and I wouldn't be surprised if they started getting their asses kicked repeatedly.
Episode 3 thoughts:
Once again based on the arguments Randy and GC were having, I was pretty sure Fang was going to get put on the tribal council again, especially when during the reward challenge GC seemed to give up in the first round. Thankfully that was only for the reward (in which Fang won), so it came down to the more important immunity challenge, and once again, someone on Fang screws things up and I thought the tribe was going to lose. But lo and behold, Fang actually won the immunity challenge, and it all thanks to KEN solving the math puzzle quicker then the physics teacher, so Ken was safe and hopefully he gets more kudos for his work. As for Kota, I was impressed with the way Sugr found the hidden immunity, considering the other guy failed miserably and she had to go to 4 different places just to get the damn thing.
Videos of the Day
The DS wasn't the first Nintendo handheld to have a camera. Remember Game Boy Camera?
You should track down that Gamasutra article on Tiberium being canned. There's a lot of 'behind the scenes' accusations of executives new to the project intentionally running it into the ground so it would be cancelled and they'd have their own studio to do their own project.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on October 06, 2008 at 12:24 AM
I like the new model of DS and I'm glad it's not coming until the new year. I, like many gamers don't play the GBA titles too much anymore.
I also still have my DS Lite. But if the big N's new version of the DS is as much of an improvement as the Lite was to the DS, we could very well see them re-sell these to DS Lite owners. If they only sell to 1/3 of the people who already have a DS... They'll have made a huge profit.
I'll be getting one. I'll take it with me everywhere and only take my Lite to places where I'll be for longer periods of time and might want to pop in some old GBA games.
Posted By: DS Sweet! (Guest) on October 06, 2008 at 04:06 AM
Just thought I'd throw in that Ken, from this year's Survivor, is the world's #1 Smash Bros. player. It will be amusing to see how he fares in the "wild."
Maybe he'll try and Falcon punch someone...one can only hope.
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Registered) on October 06, 2008 at 07:51 AM
Just a compliment: Great article!
Posted By: daniel (Guest) on October 06, 2008 at 07:59 PM
you forgot Cave Story VC.
Nothing = hardcore gamer more than having the best indy game ever on VC.
Posted By: markhenrysquash369425 (Guest) on October 06, 2008 at 08:16 PM
i want one!
Posted By: coran (Guest) on October 07, 2008 at 02:36 AM
